Coming Out On Display

Roesch Library celebrates UD\u27s support of the LGBTQ+ community with a new historical display

Lost Oscillations: Exploring a City’s Space and Time With an Interactive Auditory Art Installation

Presented at the 22nd International Conference on Auditory Display (ICAD-2016)Lost Oscillations is a spatio-temporal sound art installation that allows users to explore the past and present of a city's soundscape. Participants are positioned in the center of an octophonic speaker array; situated in the middle of the array is a touch-sensitive user interface. The user interface is a stylized representation of a map of Christchurch, New Zealand, with electrodes placed throughout the map. Upon touching an electrode, one of many sound recordings made at the electrode's real-world location is chosen and played; users must stay in contact with the electrodes in order for the sounds to continue playing, requiring commitment from users in order to explore the soundscape. The sound recordings have been chosen to represent Christchurch's development throughout its history, allowing participants to explore the evolution of the city from the early 20th Century through to its post-earthquake reconstruction. This paper discusses the motivations for Lost Oscillations before presenting the installation's design, development, and presentation

Ringed impact craters on Venus: An analysis from Magellan images

We have analyzed cycle 1 Magellan images covering approximately 90 percent of the venusian surface and have identified 55 unequivocal peak-ring craters and multiringed impact basins. This comprehensive study (52 peak-ring craters and at least 3 multiringed impact basins) complements our earlier independent analysis of Arecibo and Venera images and initial Magellan data and that of the Magellan team

Dark sectors 2016 Workshop: community report

This report, based on the Dark Sectors workshop at SLAC in April 2016, summarizes the scientific importance of searches for dark sector dark matter and forces at masses beneath the weak-scale, the status of this broad international field, the important milestones motivating future exploration, and promising experimental opportunities to reach these milestones over the next 5-10 years

STRAIGHT LINE EMBEDDINGS OF CUBIC PLANAR GRAPHS WITH INTEGER EDGE LENGTHS

Abstract. We prove that every simple cubic planar graph admits a planar embedding such that each edge is embedded as a straight line segment of integer length. 1

A population-based survey of barriers and enablers to physical activity in people using, and working in a mental health service in Scotland

Research into physical activity in people who experience mental disorders has tended to focus on those who have agreed to participate in exercise programmes. For effective health promotion across this population, it is important to understand the barriers and enablers to increasing physical activity in all of those who use mental health services. Qualitative and quantitative data were collected from consecutive service users and all staff in a General Adult Mental Health Service in Scotland. Thematic analysis was undertaken. A total of 127 service users and 186 staff participated. Data saturation was achieved. Staff and service users identified different barriers and enablers towards increasing physical activity rates. Different themes were identified in our population compared with those researched in other studies who had agreed to participate in exercise programmes. Our findings suggest there is a role for education, activity scheduling, motivational interviewing, social skills training and cognitive-behavioural therapy style interventions

Sleep disturbance in mild cognitive impairment is associated with alterations in the brain's default mode network

This study aimed to identify default mode network (DMN) functional connectivity deficits in patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and sleep disturbance, relative to those with MCI and no sleep disturbance. A control group was included to aid in identifying DMN changes specific to MCI. A cross-sectional, single-center study was performed at the Brain and Mind Research Centre in Sydney, Australia. Participants (95 adults over the age of 65: 38 controls and 57 meeting criteria for MCI) underwent resting-state functional MRI along with comprehensive neuropsychological, medical, and psychiatric assessment. Self-report data were collected including sleep quality assessment via the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index. A total score of greater than 5 on the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index was used to signify the presence of significant sleep disturbance, as per commonly used methodology. Using this criterion, 53% (n = 30) of our MCI group were classified as sleep-disturbed. Whereas the total group of MCI subjects and controls demonstrated no significant differences, sleep-disturbed MCIs demonstrated increased connectivity between temporal and parietal regions, and decreased connectivity between the prefrontal cortex and the temporoparietal junction relative to sleep-disturbed controls. Relative to those MCIs without sleep disturbance, sleep-disturbed MCI participants demonstrated significantly diminished DMN connectivity between temporal and parietal regions, a finding that was particularly pronounced in amnestic MCI. Sleep disturbance in MCI is associated with distinct alterations in DMN functional connectivity in brain regions underpinning salient memory and sleep systems. Future studies may build on these results via experimental manipulation and objective measurement of sleep.11 page(s

Functional connectivity in the default mode network is reduced in association with nocturnal awakening in mild cognitive impairment

Background: Sleep disturbance is prevalent in MCI, and is a risk factor for cognitive deterioration. Objective: To identify functional connectivity deficits in the default mode network (DMN) in patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and sleep disturbance, relative to MCIs with intact sleep. Methods: Participants comprised 47 adults aged 55 years and over, recruited from the Healthy Brain Ageing Clinic at the Brain and Mind Centre, Sydney, Australia. This sample contained 15 controls and 32 participants meeting criteria for MCI. Participants underwent resting-state fMRI and actigraphy, along with comprehensive neuropsychological, medical and psychiatric assessment. MCIs were split into two groups according to average wake after sleep onset (WASO) per night. WASO equal to or greater than 1 standard deviation (SD) above the control mean was deemed to reflect disturbed sleep. There were 11 patients in the MCI sleep-disturbed group, and 21 in the MCI sleep-intact group. Results: Relative to controls, MCIs demonstrated significant connectivity reductions between parietal and temporoparietal regions, and between temporal regions. Relative to MCIs with intact sleep, MCIs with sleep disturbance demonstrated reductions in functional connectivity between temporal and parietal regions, and between temporal and temporoparietal regions. Conclusions: MCIs with nocturnal awakenings demonstrate reductions in DMN connectivity. These reductions comprise brain regions that are crucially involved in sleep and memory processes. These results strengthen our previous findings, which found reduced connectivity in MCIs with self-reported sleep disturbances. Future studies may build on these findings through incorporating complementary neuroimaging techniques and experimental manipulations of sleep.12 page(s